Thursday, September 22, 2011

Segregation. Determination. Demonstration. Integration. Aggravation. Humiliation. Obligation to our nation. Ball of Confusion. That's what the world is today.- The Temptations

I promise to come back with either a more fun or a more reflective blog very soon. And in a way this is reflective of the fact that I often tend to take a different view on issues, especially those dealing with black people. And often, it’s not even an opposing view as much as just a different take on things. However, someone may not read this blog after what I’m about to say about the Troy Davis execution.

First of all, if an innocent man was executed last night, it is indeed one of the most heinous tragedies ever carried out by our judicial system. However, of the thousands of black men on Death Row, why select this man to be the poster child of innocence? At minimum, he is allegedly guilty of associating with someone who carried around the firearm that possibly killed the officer. His background: an unemployed high school dropout. The likelihood of getting Leon’s character from the “Like A Prayer” video off death row was greater. Sounds harsh, right? Well, there’s a reason we celebrate Rosa Parks and not Claudette Colvin when we speak of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Colvin sat in the front of the bus and got arrested and everything. But, being an unwed teenage mother wouldn’t help the cause so the black leaders pushed the older, married Rosa Parks to serve as the face of the boycott. Think image is behind us? There’s a reason many black people breathed a sigh of relief when a senator from Chicago with degrees from Ivy League schools decided to run for president of the United States. Not many shared that feeling when Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton put in their bids. Mind you, the calculated moves garnered success.

Speaking of calculated moves, one thing that this whole situation reiterated is how reactionary black people are. This man has been on Death Row for 20 years, yet the public outcry did not occur until within the last week. And it came from a very emotional place. Calculated moves are part of a proactive stance and come with planning. And usually, logic plays a greater role in calculated moves. However, when you are always showing up late to something, you cannot always expect successful results. Black people showed up on CP time to see to it that justice was served. I swear after the passage of the Civil Rights Act was passed, a meeting was scheduled the next day at 11 a.m. to discuss reparations and the black people didn’t show up until 11:30 a.m. thinking the other side wouldn’t start on time and the other side had left when they got there. (That’s one of my many rants on CP time.)

Due to social networking, I learned that many people are completely unaware of how the court system and pardons work. Hell, many people seemed to be oblivious to how government works in general. And people seemed fine with keeping Troy Davis from being executed, but turned around and in the same breath, called for the execution of Casey Anthony and suggested that the white officer who was shot may have been a bad officer. Talk about an eye for an eye. And last I checked, racism, no matter who dishes it out, is wrong.

So, if nothing else, this whole ordeal should serve as a learning experience. We must teach our children that old rule about making sure you associate with the right people because you might get accused of murder and get the electric chair. Also, there is a long list of black people on Death Row. Now would be a good time to direct all this energy to working with social organizations to ensure that if any of them are innocent, they won’t be subjected to an execution. Might also be a good time to brush up on the legal system in this country. If you deem something the enemy, it’s kind of beneficial to know what you’re fighting. And research the facts for whatever causes you may decide to become a part of. Better to be an informed, proactive activist than to be an reactive, bandwagon activist.